The Beginner's Guide to Ancient Warfare
by Dodectron
Summary: The beginner's guide to historical warfare tactics involving Pokemon. May contain descriptions of death, Pokemon cruelty and will not involve actual events due to copyright issues. T.
1. Prologue

Our past has always been riddled with conflict; this is unavoidable for our species. Humankind is naturally war-like and loves to fight with words or with fists. In fact, our urge to fight and kill is so strong, that those emotions passed over to our partners, Pokémon, within only a hundred years of coexistence. Ever since that time, deaths have risen dramatically due to the involvement of these almost mystically powerful beings, and great thought has been put into strategies involving them.

When humans had to fight by themselves, with only rock or badly-forged metals as weapons, they at most managed to kill a tribe that was outnumbered 5 to 1. When the native Pokémon were tamed and used for battle, the circumstances were changed dramatically. For example, if one tribe that specialized in fire-types, then they could easily defeat three or four tribes of grass-types. Of course, this meant that certain members of the tribe had to have at least one or two Pokémon partners that were (if still using the example from before, with a fire tribe and a grass tribe) either grass-water or some other combination that gave the warriors an advantage.

Wherever the tribe was located, the scope of species available for domestication changed. For example, a tribe in Kanto may worship the legendary Moltres, Articuno or Zapdos, but a tribe in Johto would give offerings to Raikou, Suicune and Entei. This meant that the different conflicts caused different strategies to be made over time, strategies that involved particular Pokémon species or a specific type.

One famous aggressive move that was often exploited in the Kanto region was to have a captive Pidgeot fly into the forest and herd a flock of many Pidgeys and Pidgeottos. The flock would then fly to the enemy (either their base, if this was a raid, or to defend the village from attack) and dive continually with scratching beaks or talons until the enemy scattered. Then the Pidgeot would pick off the scattered troops one by one. This was known as 'Feathered Swarm', and this intelligently designed move was often performed in ritual dances to celebrate its success in a particular battle.

In this book, I will discuss the different types of Pokémon, which regions used them and for which reasons, and also how they fought in times nearly forgotten. This will not be a guide on modern battling; this book may contain descriptions of death, mystical rituals and cruelty. Savages were not known for their soft ways towards Pokémon that they disliked or were suspicious of.

Enjoy the book; I look forward to explaining more of the mysteries that surround our ancestor's ways of life.


	2. The Flying Offensive

Flying Pokémon are the most commonly used in most wars, simply because of the amazing variety the type has to offer. There are water/flying Pokémon, grass/flying, even steel/flying! Because of this, there are offensive, defensive and guerrilla attacks designed specifically to exploit the fact that Flying Pokémon can truly be anything at all.

OFFENSIVE:

Stinging Swarm

-A captive Beedrill (it must be female) will be ordered into the nearby forest (this must always be done near a forest of some kind, and is therefore used by tribes who have an affinity for trees and bug types) and it will gather a swarm of supporting Beedrill. Weedle and Kakuna, their pre-evolutions, are not useful in a battle of flyers, and are therefore ignored. The female Beedrill will encourage her fighters to attack the tribe's enemy again and again with poisonous, razor-sharp stingers, usually in v-formations from above. The enemy is forced to either take cover in something stronger than wood, or is severely weakened until the flock of Beedrill are scared away.

Feathered Swarm

-See Prologue.

Bladed Swarm

-See Stinging Swarm, Feathered Swarm. Involves Skarmory, the only steel/flying Pokemon in existence, and is therefore only used by tribes that have access to entire flocks of the rare Hoennian Pokemon. Harder to defeat than previous two swarms, as attacks will often bounce off of their hides rather than actually damage them. Agility of Skarmory is enough to avoid most fire attacks apart from Heat Wave and Eruption, so the only resort would be Electricity, as their steel skin is hard enough to crush rocks.

Dragon Winds

-Involving only the most sacred of Pokemon, Dragon types. Must involve at least five powerful Dragon/Flying types, as this attack consists of actually harnessing the elements to send great gales of cutting winds and possibly tornadoes at villages and armies. Often causes the battle to end dramatically, with destroyed enemies and ripped-up buildings. This was recorded far more times than other flying attacks, as Dragons were once considered to be on the same level as the Legendary Pokemon; I do not need to tell you how much Legendary Pokemon meant to their worshippers. The famous Lance of the Elite Four is descended from those that used Dragon Winds to great effect; they are now known as Dragon Masters.

Sacred Fire

-As far as the primitives were concerned, this was the most impressive and popular attack ever conceived. It meant offering slaughtered sacrifices of Pokemon and Humans, burnt and speared on sharp steel rods where no-one but the greatest climbers could reach. Often after this, and after mystical rituals in which tribal members would dance in traditional costumes of the legendary Ho-oh, Lugia and their lesser birds and beasts, their battles would be met by great success. In the most rare of cases, at the critical moment of battle, an enormous wave of fire would appear as if by magic from the skies, only burning their enemies and leaving the tribe's warriors unharmed. This has always given greater credence to the theory of Legendary Pokemon taking advantage of primitive humans, using their incredible power to influence the way our minds and actions developed. As it was, Ho-oh was the most sacred of all Legendary Pokemon, as it was the most powerful of the birds and the most active in responding to offerings. There are rumours of Lugia aiding sea-faring tribes from attack, but the diving Pokemon preferred to leave humans be at this time.

These are the most common simply offensive strategies involving flying types. As you can see, they were not very well thought-out, and the tribe would often be forced to train people to understand the differences between 'steel' Pokemon or 'Normal' Pokemon. However, if you are a beginning student in the area of Pokemon History, learning simple manoeuvres commonly used by ancient humans is the first step.

Please finish taking your notes on this session before moving to the next chapter, where we will study Defensive Flying Pokemon strategies, and touch upon interesting, if trivial, ways particular tribes would treat their flying steeds or treat their enemy's partners.


	3. Kanto and Johto: Legends

As children and as historians, you would have heard of the legends surrounding certain Pokemon; in tales to frighten you into behaving, in epic mysteries about how the three great beasts came into being, and other stories of places near your hometown. I do not want to speak of the small-time legends, or ones that are not connected to our subject; instead, let us delve into the actions of the Pokemon that saw fit to guide humankind to evolution beyond all other animals, and into their intentions towards us. I will not discuss Arceus in this book; if you want to learn about the 'creation' of the universe by a Pokemon, please read a sinnohian text relating to the matter.

~Ho-oh~

An enormous phoenix whose origins are unclear, and whose power rivals that of Lugia, Ho-oh is widely considered to be one of the 'origins of life'. Ho-oh is an individual bird Pokemon that is rumoured to dwell in space, due to its immensely developed ability to hide from pursuers. Ho-oh was continually spoken of in historic volumes, as the bird was active in a god-like role for primitive humans. His most dazzling attack was, of course, Sacred Fire. This fire was so hot and bright that it was considered the highest privilege to see it in action, and anything touched by the fire was revered as holy. Ho-oh's intentions are unclear; he may either have been attempting to guide humans to fruition, or simply wanted a slave race that was capable enough to do his bidding. Either way, Ho-oh was disgusted by certain criminals that attempted to capture it, and used his sacred fire to destroy the monument to him; his tower. This killed three Pokemon at the tower's base, but Ho-oh was told to feel guilty about causing their deaths, and he used some mystical power unknown to us to make them rise from the dead. There are rumours that Ho-oh is not in fact a real Pokemon, instead being Mew in the middle of a Transform attack.

~Mew~

Mew is a pink, cat-like Pokemon that levitates to fly and is considered to be the first Pokemon to have ever existed. This theory was supported by evidence discovered of Mew being capable of every attack known to man, and its genetic code containing that of every Pokemon in existence. Because of amazing abilities to change its shape, Mew can become any Pokemon in existence, which is what fuels the rumours surrounding Ho-oh's nonexistence. Mew is extremely rare; it was thought extinct until recently, after certain political events that cannot be recorded in this book. Because of its beauty and rarity, if the Pokemon existed today it would certainly have died out again anyway. To ancient man, Mew was a goddess; capable of reviving the dead, immortality and healing the sick or wounded. However, Mew did not influence the lives of ancient man except for one occasion upon which it halted the armies of the world in a medieval world war.

~Lugia~

Lugia is an enormous bird, sporting blue spikes of bone on its head, back and tail. The back of its head juts out into a sharp point, but the simple silver of its feathers doesn't make it possible to see where the bone begins to move from the base of the skull. Lugia can fly, with great wings that look nearly like fingers, and can dive to the very bottom of the ocean in order to race around the world, apparently without needing to breathe. Its psychic powers are immense; one enraged Lugia was recorded to have caused a global disaster with a pulse of its mental energy, destroying ancient Pokemon populations such as Aerodactyl and Kabutops. Lugia represents the wind and the ocean, along with the awesome power of the elements. To ancient humans it seemed to be the ultimate guardian against death, and for this it was crowned 'The Guardian of the Sea'. Drowning sailors have been rescued from certain death by this Pokemon before, and Lugia's existence has been confirmed. Lugia did not seem to like how Ho-oh influenced the humans of the land, and would often cause his three wards (Moltres, Articuno, Zapdos) to fly over the land and disrupt whatever dealings Ho-oh had made with the humans. Lugia's song is sung at ceremonies and rituals about the legendary Pokemon, often symbolising peace or hope.

~The Three Birds~

The three birds. The famous representations of ice, fire, and electricity. Each bird has their own tale to tell, but for this book I will only speak of the legends about all three of them. The first bird is Articuno, called as such because of its ice heritage and because it was the first named bird. It is a beautiful light blue songbird with a gloriously long and shimmering tail that is said to wave and crack like a flag while in flight. The next is Zapdos; the bird of lightning, often seen in storms. It is hard to describe to one that has never seen it before, but it's basically a yellow bird with a long, orange beak in the shape of a spear, and its wings have feathers in jagged zig-zags. The last one is Moltres, another phoenix Pokemon but with a twist; its wings, head and tail are actually on fire. Moltres is thought to appear just before the coming of spring, and has a very nasty rivalry with Articuno. The three birds always obey Lugia if calmed and not in the middle of a bad fight, and only a blast of combined elemental attacks could defeat their lord, which helps to keep them in line. The birds symbolized unity to primitive people, but also dissent; there is never a time when the birds were completely at peace with each other, being warring in nature and fiercely proud of themselves. The mere sight of all three birds was usually enough to scare entire tribes into submission; their fights became legendary themselves over many thousands of years.

~The Three Beasts~

The three legendary beasts are known by so many names, that I have decided to simply call them 'beasts' in this book. They are all quadrupeds, and represent the subtler forms of the elements as they race over their native homeland, Johto. The first is Suicune; a blue leopard/dog with a large crystal on its head that is the centre of its mystical power. Suicune is incredibly fast, and prefers to flee than to fight. It can purify water with its presence, and is called the North Wind because of its speed and the cool breezes that follow it. The next is Entei, the lion/dog of volcanoes. Entei is rumoured to come into being whenever a volcano is born, but this is not true; baby Entei have been discovered in the wild recently. Entei's roar is powerful enough to cause earthquakes, if used with enough effort. The last is Raikou, a sabertooth lion/canine with literally lightning-fast reflexes and huge fangs that are powerful enough to crush a Tyranitar's armour. It is always followed by a fierce thunderstorm, and can travel within the lightning bolts themselves. These three Pokemon were reborn into their bodies by use of Ho-oh's celestial power, and because of this, follow his every whim. They never really communicated with ancient tribes of humans, but their pictures have been avidly painted and celebrated due to their raw power and beauty.

These are the legendary Pokemon of Kanto and Johto; please take notes on these Pokemon's origins and their preference towards humans before we continue in the next chapter.


	4. The Flying Defensive

Flying type Pokemon are not often used as defensive creatures; rather, their speed and agility along with their prowess at avoiding attacks are usually used as weapons in a conflict begun by the bird's masters. However, some flying Pokemon have discovered how to defend themselves with their art; and this is a beginner's guide to how ancient flying Pokemon defended their homes.

There is one Pokemon which has perfected the art of defence and attack simultaneously; Skarmory. This Pokemon is rumoured to have been bred from a mixture of Spearow, for its fiercely proud nature, Scizor, for its steel shell, and Pidgeot, for endurance, speed and the general body shape. The secret of Pokemon breeding across egg groups is a mystery today, but due to this medieval attempt at selective breeding, Skarmory became a weapon used solely by those in the Hoenn region. As a side-effect of being partially Scizor, Skarmory does not have an evolution, but its unique steel armour more than made up for the extra time spent in making each Pokemon stronger.

Dragons were great weapons and shields at the time, due to their mystical powers and tough hide. If a fire tribe were to attack those of dragons, their draconic partners would simply move in the way of the attack and watch it dissipate to nothing on their scales. Dragons were usually weapons however; only the legendary tribe of Dragon Tamers discovered the use of defence instead of offence during war.

Occasionally a tribe may be gifted with several bird Pokemon, and would have them make a mighty wind together to blow an attack clean away from their village. This didn't always work, but the species Pidgey, Pidgeotto and Pidgeot seemed particularly adapted to this technique.

The last topic for bird Pokemon will be on guerrilla tactics; please take notes on what you have learned, and be ready for a surprise quiz.


	5. The Flying Raider

As we have already covered in previous chapters, flying Pokemon were almost revered for their agility and diversity, making them dangerous enemies and incredible assets to earth-bound humans. Attack was occasionally used by bird-based tribes, such as the tribes located near where Violet city is today (the role of a flying-type gym leader there was based on the old legends of birds being more powerful in that area) and defence might be a last resort or an opening ploy. The most common use, however, was in lightning-quick raids.

Bird Pokemon are built for speed. They have aerodynamic bodies, wings that make flight possible, and often can use rushes of adrenalin to become extremely fast for a couple of minutes at most. Raiding would often include stealing food or supplies, or taking the baby Pokemon that hadn't been raised to serve only their tribe yet. Bird Pokemon usually had talons to carry things away and could escape into the sky. Only electric Pokemon could be trusted to defeat the birds in this kind of fight, as they are renowned for extreme speed and can shock their foes at enormous distances.

The most commonly used bird Pokemon for raids was pidgeot; it was faster than any other known flying Pokemon at that stage, and was strong enough to carry enormous loads at these speeds. skarmory, though capable of flight, was still slowed by its load of steel feathers, making it an unlikely choice for lightning-raids. Fearow was too slow for raids, but could carry even larger loads than pidgeot. Any other bird Pokemon had their uses as raiders, and no raiding party at that time was considered a full team unless aided by two or three bird Pokemon.

Before every raid, the tribe would dance and celebrate their bravery for going out into terrible danger (as Pokemon had not been completely tamed at this point, and even venturing near a weedle or pidgey had its dangers). Each Pokemon involved would be crowned with flowers and showered with feathers collected over weeks or months, and every human would be painted in the tribe's traditional colours. The tribe leader would give a lengthy speech on courage, ability and the fate of deserters, and then the tribe members would dress in costumes designed on the fastest and sneakiest legendary Pokemon of their region. Dances and rites would continue long after the raiders left, and would end when news returned of their success or failure.

Now, without cheating, please send in your answers to this surprise quiz; if you find it far too easy, find a guide to ancient history more suitable to your level.

Q1. What is 'Feathered Swarm'?

Q2. Which Pokemon was the best defensive flyer commonly used?

Q3. Which legendary Pokemon influenced and controlled primitive humans the most in the Johto and Kanto regions?

Q4. What speech would a tribal elder give before a raid?

Q5. List alphabetically every Johto legendary Pokemon you can remember.

Please remember that this is a 'Beginner's Guide to Ancient Warfare'. Any complaints may be forwarded to Dodectron directly through Private Message. Answers to this surprise quiz must be answered through Private Message, to avoid cheating.


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